Screenshots thread

[Martes]

Incredible

I can't but wonder, whether it is possible to extend the rendering settings to other objects, i.e. make transparent windows on ships, and, eventually, lightning?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Alpha maps on ships should already work, I think.

I wonder if @Jack Rackham or perhaps @Grey Roger can think of any clever ideas for alpha maps on character models.

 

[Grey Roger]

Incredible

I can't but wonder, whether it is possible to extend the rendering settings to other objects, i.e. make transparent windows on ships, and, eventually, lightning?

The alpha map is already used to make transparent windows on some ships. The AoP battleship, which has been imported into PoTC as "Battleship4", has windows like that. And the cursed fast war galleon La Marianna, which exists in PoTC but isn't currently used for much, uses the alpha map to put ragged holes into the wings of the figurehead dragon.

I've no specific ideas for character models which could benefit from alpha maps right now, but having character textures make use of them is likely to prove useful at some point...

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Thank you @DeathDaisy

Transparent windows? Lotsa ships have them.

 

[Martes]

Lotsa ships have them.

Are you sure the ship on the screenshot has actually any faces there, representing the glass? I see only a wooden frame.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Are you sure the ship on the screenshot has actually any faces there, representing the glass? I see only a wooden frame.

The alpha map is probably either fully opaque or fully transparent.
Not sure if something halfway works.

 

[Grey Roger]

Correct - it's either transparent or opaque. But it can be applied precisely, so that the frame is opaque and the glass is transparent. In a ship's alpha map, black is transparent and white is opaque, so the alpha map matches the pattern of the glass parts, but in black.

 

[DeathDaisy]

indeed, I know that when I looked at the empress she used alpha maps for holes in some places. not sure about halfway, ie gray, transparency tho, gonna have to test it

are there glow maps in the game? I don't remember if the lanterns on land glow or if it's just the glow effect that makes it seem so. if there is maybe it could be put on ships too. it seems it's harder to do dynamic things at sea tho, but I might just have been unlucky

 

[Grey Roger]

Yes, the holes in the "Empress" sails are also done with the alpha map. So are other torn sails. Although it is possible to set TX Convertor to save a 4-bit alpha map, I don't think ships take any notice of it - areas are either transparent or not transparent, not semi-transparent.

As far as I know, it's impossible to have lanterns on ships in PoTC which glow by night and are dull by day. Some of the ships which were imported from "Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales" or later games have "fonar" components which are involved with lighting. PoTC doesn't use them.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

are there glow maps in the game?

I think it's mainly baked into the textures and/or pre-generated using the COL files.
Guide - Generating Location Lighting Files (.COL)

it seems it's harder to do dynamic things at sea tho, but I might just have been unlucky

I once tried to attached a glowy particle effect to a ship's stern. Couldn't make it work.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I got a bit sidetracked, but I separated the pieces, fixed them up and put them in the right place in the scene to the best of my knowledge, left the locators be for now. hopefully they just work but tell me if I missed something

also a maybe probably final version of the animation.sha for character alpha maps; discovered the rest of the world was still visible thru the head behind the hair, so I changed some things and now it seems to work hope it leads to great creations!
View attachment 31171

You could not have known this, but the FR_LightPinnace is completely different from the NL, PO, and SP versions. The French ship is actually a full size Pinnace that got renamed for a special quest years ago when there were no light pinnaces made yet. It is probably the very best full size pinnace model in the game but never gets used because it is a huge ship with no cargo space.

Anyway, I got the spars all fixed up and ready to go when I ever find that ship to playtest.

 

[DeathDaisy]

You could not have known this, but the FR_LightPinnace is completely different from the NL, PO, and SP versions. The French ship is actually a full size Pinnace that got renamed for a special quest years ago when there were no light pinnaces made yet. It is probably the very best full size pinnace model in the game but never gets used because it is a huge ship with no cargo space.

Anyway, I got the spars all fixed up and ready to go when I ever find that ship to playtest.

ah alright, if the thing I did worked it's not bother doing the same thing to the other ones are the NL, PO and SP the same as eachother?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Yes. The only difference between them is a different trim color.

 

[DeathDaisy]

@Hylie Pistof separated PO version done

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Thanks! And since this is the Screenshots thread...............

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Don't think I've ever seen this before.

 

[DeathDaisy]

Don't think I've ever seen this before.

View attachment 31210 View attachment 31211

what in the world I'll have a look at it, something mustve went very wrong

 

[DeathDaisy]

there we go, had left double sided on which does chaos to the models when exported. they should work now!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Err, there seems to be no X,Y,or Z axis so nothing can be attached properly.

I know I know.....

 

[DeathDaisy]

Err, there seems to be no X,Y,or Z axis so nothing can be attached properly.

I know I know.....View attachment 31214

that's so weird, I did the exact same thing as with the FR version. literally no idea why that would happen this has not been a good modding day
I'll redo it and hope it solves itself